February 10, 2022 • 11 mins
Learn the untold history of Black Wall Street in this new documentary presented by Greenwood. Discover the past and present of Black Wall Street in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Through interviews with Tulsa residents, historians, and community leaders, we explore real-life accounts of the survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, take tours of historical Greenwood locales, and explore the process of uncovering and reclaiming historical property.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
As you know, our crew went out to Tulsa, Oklahoma
for the one anniversary of the Greenwood massacre in nine
While they were there, they were able to catch up
with multiple people who had stories to tell that aren't
usually told. So part of our job here at Money
Moves is to let you in on the move made
in our communities, in our past, in our present, so
(00:21):
that you can also make your money move today. I
(00:44):
am Donia backus CBS News correspondent. My personal connection to
Greenwood is I'm the great great granddaughter of John and
Lula Williams, Oklahoma, Tulsa. This was known as the Promised Land.
Black people were coming because they knew that this is
a place where they could escape white supremacy and Jim
(01:05):
Crow law so they could establish their own community, which
they did. In the Greenwood district more than thirty five
blocks of black owned businesses. My great great grandparents owned
the Dreamland Theater on Black Wall Street, but they had
two other locations in Oklahoma. There was a very popular
confectionery and an auto garage, so they were building an empire.
(01:29):
They worked very hard to save their money to do that,
and then it was all wiped away in a matter
of hours. My name is Vivian Clark Adams. I was
part of the committee that helped with looking at some
voices that had not been heard in regard to the
events of the race Ryant. One of the things we
uncovered was that there were some desirous eyes on this
(01:53):
property and that people had long before May thirty one,
actually land the events of the thirty first in June one.
On June two, refugees from the riot zone appeared at
the National Office of the Double at Pete. Refugees said
warnings had been distributed weeks and months before the riot
(02:16):
telling Colored people they would have to leave Oklahoma before
June one or suffered the consequences. Cards have been posted
outside the doors of colored people's homes warning them to
get out of the state, and a white newspaper had
published a similar warning. My name is Linda Barnett. I
knew about the massacre when I was a kid, coming
from northwest Oklahoma and rural Oklahoma, just because I had
(02:40):
heard my dad and my uncle talk about it. This
is a long oral tradition, and we did have people
that were trying to cover this up, trying to say
that didn't happen. It was completely suppressed ever taught history
classes or anything. When I went to school at a
year and pluch Sorority and got to know some Tulsa girls,
(03:03):
I asked him about it, and they thought I'd met that.
My name is Rita Duncan. I was born and raised
in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Un Thus I know a great deal
of its history. Walter White was a field representative for
the n A A CP. His reports said that the
sheriff said, now you have the authorization to go out
(03:27):
and shoot a nigger. The sureff deputized a lynch mob.
Not not everybody, but he deputized members that he knew
we're in the lynch mob. There are still audio tapes
from my great grandfather W. D. Williams account of what
happened during the massacre. He says they went to sleep
(03:48):
and in the early morning hours he started hearing gunshots.
As the daylight started to come, they could see what
was a wall of white people coming in armed. They
start here and planes buying overhead. His father starts trying
to shoot at the planes, and that's when he says,
his father got a little nervous. N's like you should
probably we should probably leave. There's been no other conflict
(04:11):
on American soil where they used airplanes and machine gun.
That made Tulso the first city in the United States
history to be bombed from an aircraft. The massacre is
really not the right word for this. It's not a riot.
It's more like a war. My great great grandmother, Louis
Williams had multiple insurance policies covering all three of the businesses.
(04:34):
All the claims for those were denied because there was
a riot clause that kept the insurance companies from being
liable if there was any damage caused by a riot,
and at this time that's what the massacre was classified as.
They passed far laws saying that you had to rebuild
in a far proof structure rick to make it impossible.
(04:57):
But most black people who had just lost everything to
read bill and the mayor of Tulsa, they said it
was the black community who started all this by going
to the courthouse and demanding that a black man not
be lynched. The only crime that they committed was being
born black. This is an area that was once so
(05:20):
prosperous and thrived and was destroyed by racial violence. They
were intelligent, They were thriving. These people lost everything. We
need to do something to make sure that that never
happens again, and that the people who are affected by
ves have some level of compensation to be able to
(05:42):
continue the legacy that was lost. Michelle, I'm good. How
(06:11):
are you doing. Thank you so much for having Thank you,
thank you so much for being here. We are standing
in the home of Sam and Lucy Mackie. These are
portraits of the homeowners here. Their original home was three
blocks north of here, and it was a grand home
in itself, but their home was destroyed during the Tulsa
Race Conster. Mr Mackie, like many other African Americans in
(06:36):
this area, decided that they were going to stand their ground.
They were going to stay in the Greenwood district, and
they were going to rebuild. Mr Mackie hired an architect
who want one thousand dollars for the design of the
home because it was one of the first homes in
the area where you could stand at the bottom of
the stairs and cut the lights on upstairs, and that
was a really big deal. He made this home to
(06:58):
be especially convenient for his wife, and it resembled many
of the homes that you would see in rich white neighborhoods.
Anything you can imagine wanting or needing in your community.
At that time they had built in the Greenwood District.
There was more home ownership in the black community than
in the white community. By they had completely rebuilt the
(07:22):
district and we saw more businesses black owned businesses in
the Greenwood District than we had prior to the massacre.
The district would thrive through the twenties, the thirties, the
forties up until several things happened. One was the end
of segregation. The dollar would circulate at least nineteen times
(07:43):
in the Greenwood District before leaving this community. The end
of segregation meant that the dollar was now being spent
outside of the Greenwood District, which caused those small businesses
to suffer. The other thing was the city of Tulsa
building the expressway through the heart of the Greenwood Street.
It hurt the small business owners that were living near
that expressway. Some were forced to relocate. At the corner
(08:07):
of Greenwood and Archer, which was once the heart of
the Greenwood district, is a remnant of the businesses that
once were so welcome, welcome to the Greenwood Cultural Center.
The area where we are is historic Greenwood, which we
consider sacred ground. Prior to there were hundreds of black
(08:29):
owned businesses lining the streets of Greenwood. From where we
are now, you can look into the Greenwood District and
see restaurants and hotels and movie theaters, all black owned
businesses lining the streets. When Oklahoma became a state, the
first ballet it passed with the Gym prolog, which segregated
the races. So you had African Americans who are moving
(08:49):
into the Greenwood District who saw this land as the
promised land. They were looking to escape the oppressive South,
and so this was their opportunity to build their homes
and to build their businesses. So African Americans were actually
moving here from all over the country. Based on the
conversations that we've had with our survivors, they said we
(09:11):
had such a love for our community and a love
for each other that when one person got their business
up and off the ground, they would grab the hand
of their brother or sister and pull them up alongside them.
They shared resources, they shared opportunities. Tulsa Raised Massacre, more
than a thousand homes were burned to the ground, more
than three black owned businesses were completely destroyed. The city
(09:33):
of Tulsa set up three interment sites. There were sites
where African Americans were held. What it did was leave
their homes and businesses defenseless so that the white rids
could then go in and take whatever valuables they wanted
and then set everything else on fire. What they returned
to was seeing their businesses and homes completely destroyed. Many
(09:56):
of them had nothing but the clothes on their backs
her leave. The City of Tulsa is conducting the mass
graves investigation. We believe that there are several mass grave
sites in Tulsa and there could be some in surrounding communities.
No one has been held accountable for any of the
murders that took place in the Greenwood District. Many people
(10:16):
have begun to refer to this area that we consider
Holy Ground as a crime scene where our ancestors were
fleeing for their lives. We were a strong people, were
courageous people, and we worked together. We supported one another.
If we ever hope to rebuild the Greenwood District, it's
going to take us getting back to a place where
(10:36):
we believe in being utified and rebuilding together. Thank you
so much for tuning in Money Moves audience. If you
(10:58):
want more or a recap of the episode, please go
to the bank Greenwood dot com and check out the
Money Moves podcast blog. Money Moves is an I Heart
Radio podcast powered by Greenwood Executive produced by Sunwise Media, Inc.
For more podcast on I heart Radio, visit the i
(11:18):
heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
podcasts from.
As you know, our crew went out to Tulsa, Oklahoma
for the one anniversary of the Greenwood massacre in nine
While they were there, they were able to catch up
with multiple people who had stories to tell that aren't
usually told. So part of our job here at Money
Moves is to let you in on the move made
in our communities, in our past, in our present, so
(00:21):
that you can also make your money move today. I
(00:44):
am Donia backus CBS News correspondent. My personal connection to
Greenwood is I'm the great great granddaughter of John and
Lula Williams, Oklahoma, Tulsa. This was known as the Promised Land.
Black people were coming because they knew that this is
a place where they could escape white supremacy and Jim
(01:05):
Crow law so they could establish their own community, which
they did. In the Greenwood district more than thirty five
blocks of black owned businesses. My great great grandparents owned
the Dreamland Theater on Black Wall Street, but they had
two other locations in Oklahoma. There was a very popular
confectionery and an auto garage, so they were building an empire.
(01:29):
They worked very hard to save their money to do that,
and then it was all wiped away in a matter
of hours. My name is Vivian Clark Adams. I was
part of the committee that helped with looking at some
voices that had not been heard in regard to the
events of the race Ryant. One of the things we
uncovered was that there were some desirous eyes on this
(01:53):
property and that people had long before May thirty one,
actually land the events of the thirty first in June one.
On June two, refugees from the riot zone appeared at
the National Office of the Double at Pete. Refugees said
warnings had been distributed weeks and months before the riot
(02:16):
telling Colored people they would have to leave Oklahoma before
June one or suffered the consequences. Cards have been posted
outside the doors of colored people's homes warning them to
get out of the state, and a white newspaper had
published a similar warning. My name is Linda Barnett. I
knew about the massacre when I was a kid, coming
from northwest Oklahoma and rural Oklahoma, just because I had
(02:40):
heard my dad and my uncle talk about it. This
is a long oral tradition, and we did have people
that were trying to cover this up, trying to say
that didn't happen. It was completely suppressed ever taught history
classes or anything. When I went to school at a
year and pluch Sorority and got to know some Tulsa girls,
(03:03):
I asked him about it, and they thought I'd met that.
My name is Rita Duncan. I was born and raised
in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Un Thus I know a great deal
of its history. Walter White was a field representative for
the n A A CP. His reports said that the
sheriff said, now you have the authorization to go out
(03:27):
and shoot a nigger. The sureff deputized a lynch mob.
Not not everybody, but he deputized members that he knew
we're in the lynch mob. There are still audio tapes
from my great grandfather W. D. Williams account of what
happened during the massacre. He says they went to sleep
(03:48):
and in the early morning hours he started hearing gunshots.
As the daylight started to come, they could see what
was a wall of white people coming in armed. They
start here and planes buying overhead. His father starts trying
to shoot at the planes, and that's when he says,
his father got a little nervous. N's like you should
probably we should probably leave. There's been no other conflict
(04:11):
on American soil where they used airplanes and machine gun.
That made Tulso the first city in the United States
history to be bombed from an aircraft. The massacre is
really not the right word for this. It's not a riot.
It's more like a war. My great great grandmother, Louis
Williams had multiple insurance policies covering all three of the businesses.
(04:34):
All the claims for those were denied because there was
a riot clause that kept the insurance companies from being
liable if there was any damage caused by a riot,
and at this time that's what the massacre was classified as.
They passed far laws saying that you had to rebuild
in a far proof structure rick to make it impossible.
(04:57):
But most black people who had just lost everything to
read bill and the mayor of Tulsa, they said it
was the black community who started all this by going
to the courthouse and demanding that a black man not
be lynched. The only crime that they committed was being
born black. This is an area that was once so
(05:20):
prosperous and thrived and was destroyed by racial violence. They
were intelligent, They were thriving. These people lost everything. We
need to do something to make sure that that never
happens again, and that the people who are affected by
ves have some level of compensation to be able to
(05:42):
continue the legacy that was lost. Michelle, I'm good. How
(06:11):
are you doing. Thank you so much for having Thank you,
thank you so much for being here. We are standing
in the home of Sam and Lucy Mackie. These are
portraits of the homeowners here. Their original home was three
blocks north of here, and it was a grand home
in itself, but their home was destroyed during the Tulsa
Race Conster. Mr Mackie, like many other African Americans in
(06:36):
this area, decided that they were going to stand their ground.
They were going to stay in the Greenwood district, and
they were going to rebuild. Mr Mackie hired an architect
who want one thousand dollars for the design of the
home because it was one of the first homes in
the area where you could stand at the bottom of
the stairs and cut the lights on upstairs, and that
was a really big deal. He made this home to
(06:58):
be especially convenient for his wife, and it resembled many
of the homes that you would see in rich white neighborhoods.
Anything you can imagine wanting or needing in your community.
At that time they had built in the Greenwood District.
There was more home ownership in the black community than
in the white community. By they had completely rebuilt the
(07:22):
district and we saw more businesses black owned businesses in
the Greenwood District than we had prior to the massacre.
The district would thrive through the twenties, the thirties, the
forties up until several things happened. One was the end
of segregation. The dollar would circulate at least nineteen times
(07:43):
in the Greenwood District before leaving this community. The end
of segregation meant that the dollar was now being spent
outside of the Greenwood District, which caused those small businesses
to suffer. The other thing was the city of Tulsa
building the expressway through the heart of the Greenwood Street.
It hurt the small business owners that were living near
that expressway. Some were forced to relocate. At the corner
(08:07):
of Greenwood and Archer, which was once the heart of
the Greenwood district, is a remnant of the businesses that
once were so welcome, welcome to the Greenwood Cultural Center.
The area where we are is historic Greenwood, which we
consider sacred ground. Prior to there were hundreds of black
(08:29):
owned businesses lining the streets of Greenwood. From where we
are now, you can look into the Greenwood District and
see restaurants and hotels and movie theaters, all black owned
businesses lining the streets. When Oklahoma became a state, the
first ballet it passed with the Gym prolog, which segregated
the races. So you had African Americans who are moving
(08:49):
into the Greenwood District who saw this land as the
promised land. They were looking to escape the oppressive South,
and so this was their opportunity to build their homes
and to build their businesses. So African Americans were actually
moving here from all over the country. Based on the
conversations that we've had with our survivors, they said we
(09:11):
had such a love for our community and a love
for each other that when one person got their business
up and off the ground, they would grab the hand
of their brother or sister and pull them up alongside them.
They shared resources, they shared opportunities. Tulsa Raised Massacre, more
than a thousand homes were burned to the ground, more
than three black owned businesses were completely destroyed. The city
(09:33):
of Tulsa set up three interment sites. There were sites
where African Americans were held. What it did was leave
their homes and businesses defenseless so that the white rids
could then go in and take whatever valuables they wanted
and then set everything else on fire. What they returned
to was seeing their businesses and homes completely destroyed. Many
(09:56):
of them had nothing but the clothes on their backs
her leave. The City of Tulsa is conducting the mass
graves investigation. We believe that there are several mass grave
sites in Tulsa and there could be some in surrounding communities.
No one has been held accountable for any of the
murders that took place in the Greenwood District. Many people
(10:16):
have begun to refer to this area that we consider
Holy Ground as a crime scene where our ancestors were
fleeing for their lives. We were a strong people, were
courageous people, and we worked together. We supported one another.
If we ever hope to rebuild the Greenwood District, it's
going to take us getting back to a place where
(10:36):
we believe in being utified and rebuilding together. Thank you
so much for tuning in Money Moves audience. If you
(10:58):
want more or a recap of the episode, please go
to the bank Greenwood dot com and check out the
Money Moves podcast blog. Money Moves is an I Heart
Radio podcast powered by Greenwood Executive produced by Sunwise Media, Inc.
For more podcast on I heart Radio, visit the i
(11:18):
heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
podcasts from.
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